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VIDEO National Adoption Month? The Lost Daughters #flipthescript

Headed by @mothermade, Lost Daughters is flipping the script with this awesome round table style video by Bryan Tucker . Click here for the full length version and remember to share with the tags #NationalAdoptionMonth and #flipthescript. Being grateful for my adoptive family & questioning the ethics of modern adoption practices are not mutually exclusive. #FliptheScript #NAM — Mila (@yoonsblur) November 3, 2014

PA, Adoptee Rights, and an Amended Bill--What now?

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Photo (c) Julie Stromberg On Tuesday, September 16, 2014, the Pennsylvania Senate Aging and Youth Committee held a voting hearing for HB 162.  As drafted, HB 162 would restore the right of PA-born adult adoptees, nineteen years or older, to access a copy of their original birth certificate (OBC) with the same regard under the law enjoyed by every other PA-born citizen. When a child is adopted in the U.S., a amended birth record replaces their OBC that lists their adoptive parents as their biological parents.  In 48 states, the OBC is sealed.  Every single state has a law on the books providing for the release of the OBC to the adoptee at the discretion of a judge in addition to other avenues of access. However, only six states honor the right of adult adoptees to access their OBC with the same regard as all other people. The history of how HB 162 came to be is peculiar. Until 1985, Pennsylvania was one of three states that allowed adoptees equal access to their OBCs.  Following

Adoption and Fundraising: When Money to Breaks Down Systemic Barriers for Families

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Aselefech runs for family preservation . There are a number of factors behind why I was placed for adoption.  Economics by far is one of the most pervasive.  My narrative is one among countless that attest to the way in which economics constricts the choices families and parents have--to keep their children, to not experience the removal of their children, to not become pregnant if they do not wish to be. I have been outspoken for the past five years against adoption fundraisers.  I have been asked countless times over the years to donate my written word or official endorsement to adoption fundraisers, and each time I have declined.  According to my mother's narrative, at the time she stepped off of the plane in her sister's home state where she would birth me, she owned just one change of clothes. It seems irreverent for the wealthy to exchange money for inspirational adoption t-shirts among themselves, too expensive for my own mother to have worn herself, to raise mon

As Rightful Narrators: Adoption, RAD, and Storytelling

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Recently, the New York Times Motherlode blog posted an essay by author Tina Traster entitled, " You're not my Real Mother ."  The essay processed her gut reaction to hearing the infamous "you're not my real mom" phrase from her daughter.  Traster retorted "well who is then?" and directed her daughter never to say the phrase again.  Traster described her own hurt feelings while disclosing her daughter's adoption narrative and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) diagnosis to readers across the globe.  Her daughter's narrative and diagnosis are also embedded in the premise of her book  Rescuing Julia Twice .  The reaction to the article exposed sincere concern in the readership regarding the level of information-sharing on the child's behalf in the article.  One Motherlode reader conversely posed the question: shouldn't parenting essays show the challenges of parenting, including a parent's raw and honest revelations however i

"I do not Have to Help Them": Pushing Back Against the Apathy of Those With Power

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"The Representative would like to meet with you," came a young woman's voice over the speaker of my cell phone. "It is urgent. You must come to Harrisburg as soon as possible." I agreed to attend, and quickly contacted two other adoption activists. It was the summer of 2010. I was relatively new to adoption activism and knew better than to go by myself. I knew why she had called.  This legislator had submitted a bill that competed with a pending original birth certificate access bill.  After his office ignored our attempts to engage with him personally, we launched a social media campaign in opposition of the bill.  We knew he had heard our voices, yet nothing prepared me for what I walked into that day. Joined by two other activists, I nervously sat down at the large oval table. Several Representatives were there, including the bill sponsor. He was flanked by numerous staff.  No one looked happy. "Can you tell me what this is about?" he

"Your Child Should not be Your First Black Friend": NPR, Transracial Adoption & the Powerful Voice of Chad Goller-Sojourner

It has been two weeks since NPR's The Sunday Show aired  a segment on transracial adoption  that caused outrage within the adoption community.  To give a brief re-cap,  Angela Tucker , an African American transracial adult adoptee who is the subject of the documentary " Closure ," an adoption blogger, and a former adoption professional was interviewed for the segment only to be told that her interview would not be used.  Instead, NPR chose an interview with a white adoptive parent of three young transracially adopted children. As the initial point of contact between NPR and Angela, I reached out to the producer once I learned that Angela's interview would not be aired, and with Angela's permission, I urged them to reconsider.  After further correspondence with NPR, I learned that they chose the adoptive parent interview because they were interested in her faith background, her geographical location, and her speaking skills, confident that the history of their sh

Lost Daughters: Writing Adoption from a Place of Empowerment and Peace....Now Available!

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I am proud to announce that  Lost Daughters: Writing Adoption from a Place of Empowerment and Peace  is now available in ebook format with print copies forthcoming, on Amazon.com. This anthology, boasting nearly 30 Lost Daughters authors, was edited by Amanda H.L. Transue-Woolston, Julie Stromberg, Karen Pickell, and Jennifer Anastasi. It features a collection of writings aimed to bring readers the perspectives of adopted women and highlight their strength, resiliency, and wisdom.  We thank CQT Media and Publishing and Land of Gazillion Adoptees for publishing this incredible book. The beautiful cover art of painted flowers was provided by Carlynne Hershberger. Proceeds from this anthology will be donated to a charity to be determined. "Moving beyond racial, ethnic and professional silos frequently observed in adoption, Lost Daughters brings us together to witness the courage, strength and amazement of a diverse group of women who represent the true fabric of adoptio

On NPR & Transracial Adoption: Who Gets to do the Teaching?

It would be nice if transracial adoptees were asked more often to share their own experiences of "double takes" and discrimination. — Nicole 수정 (@nicolecallahan) January 12, 2014 A few days ago, I received an email from NPR looking for Angela Tucker’s contact information for an upcoming show on The Sunday Conversation .   I was told that the purpose of the segment was to provide insight from someone "personally affected by stories that made headlines."  In this case, they explained, they wanted to interview someone affected by  the comments regarding Mitt Romney's transracially adopted grandchild made on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show .  Angela is a black transracially adopted woman who is the subject of the powerful documentary "Closure," an adoption blogger, and a former adoption professional.  Angela is a friend and a fellow author at  Lost Daughters , and the producer anticipated that I could get into contact with her quickly.   Fumbling on my ph